Maternal high-fat diet intensifies the metabolic response to stress in male rat offspring
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Roxana Karbaschi1, Homeira Zardooz1,2, Fariba Khodagholi3
1Neurophysiology Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, 19615-1178 Tehran, Iran.
Insights
Maternal high-fat diet intensifies offspring stress response. This diet alters glucose transporter 2 expression and insulin secretion, impacting metabolic health and neuroendocrine programming.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Metabolic Health
- Developmental Programming
Background:
- Maternal high-fat diet (HFD) impacts offspring glucose metabolism and stress axis.
- Potential for altered metabolic responses to stress in offspring exposed to maternal HFD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of maternal HFD on pancreatic glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) expression.
- To assess insulin secretion in response to stress in offspring of mothers fed HFD.
Main Methods:
- Rats received normal or HFD from pre-pregnancy to lactation.
- Offspring were exposed to stress in adulthood; glucose tolerance tests and hormonal assays were performed.
- Pancreatic GLUT2 mRNA and protein levels, and insulin secretion were measured.
Main Results:
- Stress increased corticosterone; maternal HFD exacerbated this effect.
- Stress reduced plasma insulin without altering glucose, indicating increased insulin sensitivity, more pronounced in HFD offspring.
- Maternal HFD intensified stress-induced reduction in insulin secretion and increased GLUT2 expression.
Conclusions:
- Maternal HFD intensifies offspring stress response.
- Maternal HFD alters neuroendocrine system programming in offspring.
- This programming impacts glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity under stress.
Background:
The mother's consumption of high-fat food can affect glucose metabolism and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responsiveness in the offspring and potentially affect the metabolic responses to stress as well. This study examines the effect of maternal high-fat diet on the expression of pancreatic glucose transporter 2 and the secretion of insulin in response to stress in offspring.
Methods:
Female rats were randomly divided into normal and high-fat diet groups and were fed in accordance with their given diets from pre-pregnancy to the end of lactation. The offspring were divided into control (NC and HFC) and stress (NS and HFS) groups based on their mothers' diet and exposure to stress in adulthood. After the two-week stress induction period was over, an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) was performed and plasma glucose and insulin levels were assessed. The pancreas was then removed for measuring insulin secretion from the isolated islets as well as glucose transporter 2 mRNA expression and protein levels.
Results:
According to the results obtained, plasma corticosterone concentrations increased significantly on days 1 and 14 of the stress induction period and were lower on the last day compared to on the first day. In both the NS and HFS groups, stress reduced plasma insulin concentration in the IPGTT without changing the plasma glucose concentration, suggesting an increased insulin sensitivity in the NS and HFS groups, although more markedly in the latter. Stress reduced insulin secretion (at high glucose concentrations) and increased glucose transporter 2 mRNA and protein expression, especially in the HFS group.
Conclusion:
Mothers' high-fat diet appears to intensify the stress response by changing the programming of the neuroendocrine system in the offspring.
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